DSQ: Calculating the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle : Pythagorean Theorem - GMAT Quantitative Reasoning
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Two ships left New York at the same time. One ship has been moving due east the entire time at a speed of 50 nautical miles per hour. How far apart are the ships now?
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The other ship has been moving due south the entire time.
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The other ship has been moving at a rate of 60 nautical miles per hour the entire time.
Two ships left New York at the same time. One ship has been moving due east the entire time at a speed of 50 nautical miles per hour. How far apart are the ships now?
-
The other ship has been moving due south the entire time.
-
The other ship has been moving at a rate of 60 nautical miles per hour the entire time.
In order to determine how far apart the ships are now, it is necessary to know how far each ship is from New York now. Even knowing both statements, however, you only know that the paths are at right angles, and that the ratio of the two distances is 6 to 5. Without knowing the time elapsed, which is not given, you cannot tell how far apart the ships are.
The answer is that both statements together are insufficent to answer the question.
In order to determine how far apart the ships are now, it is necessary to know how far each ship is from New York now. Even knowing both statements, however, you only know that the paths are at right angles, and that the ratio of the two distances is 6 to 5. Without knowing the time elapsed, which is not given, you cannot tell how far apart the ships are.
The answer is that both statements together are insufficent to answer the question.
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Right triangle 
is similar to triangle 
.
Find the hypotenuse of triangle 
I) Triangle 
has side lengths of 
.
II) The shortest side of 
is 
.
Right triangle
Find the hypotenuse of triangle
I) Triangle
II) The shortest side of
We need both statements here because we need to work with ratios.
If you notice that a 12/16/20 triangle follows the 3/4/5 triangle ratio, then it is even easier. Otherwise, you can set up the following proportion and solve to find the answer.
Where x is the hypotenuse of triangle HJK.
We need both statements here because we need to work with ratios.
If you notice that a 12/16/20 triangle follows the 3/4/5 triangle ratio, then it is even easier. Otherwise, you can set up the following proportion and solve to find the answer.
Where x is the hypotenuse of triangle HJK.
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Find the hypotenuse of 
.
I) The shortest side is half of the second shortest side.
II) The middle side is 
fathoms long.
Find the hypotenuse of
I) The shortest side is half of the second shortest side.
II) The middle side is
To find the hypotenuse of a right triangle we can use the classic Pythagorean Theorem. To do so, however, we need to know the other two sides.
I) Tells us how to relate the other two sides to eachother.
II) Gives us the length of one side.
Use II) and I) to find the two short sides. Then use Pythagorean Theorem to find the perimeter.
, where SS represents the shortest side, MS represents the middle side, and H represents the hypotenuse.
To find the hypotenuse of a right triangle we can use the classic Pythagorean Theorem. To do so, however, we need to know the other two sides.
I) Tells us how to relate the other two sides to eachother.
II) Gives us the length of one side.
Use II) and I) to find the two short sides. Then use Pythagorean Theorem to find the perimeter.
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Find the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle.
- The area of the triangle is
.
- The legs are measured to be
and 
.
Find the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle.
- The area of the triangle is
- The legs are measured to be
Statement 1: We'll need more information to answer the question.
Which means the base and height can either be 4 and 3, or 6 and 2. We cannot find the length of the hypotenuse unless we know which one.
Statement 2: We're given the lengths of the base and height so we can just plug them into the Pythagorean Theorem.
Statement 1: We'll need more information to answer the question.
Which means the base and height can either be 4 and 3, or 6 and 2. We cannot find the length of the hypotenuse unless we know which one.
Statement 2: We're given the lengths of the base and height so we can just plug them into the Pythagorean Theorem.
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Calculate the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
- The area of the right triangle is
.
- One of the angles is
.
Calculate the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
- The area of the right triangle is
- One of the angles is
Statement 1:In order to find the hypotenuse, we need to find the values for the base and length. Although we're given the area, we need additional information.
but the base and height can be 2 and 18, 3 and 12, 4 and 9, or 6 and 6.
Statement 2: We don't need this information to find the length of the hypotenuse.
Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient, and additional data is needed to answer the question.
Statement 1:In order to find the hypotenuse, we need to find the values for the base and length. Although we're given the area, we need additional information.
but the base and height can be 2 and 18, 3 and 12, 4 and 9, or 6 and 6.
Statement 2: We don't need this information to find the length of the hypotenuse.
Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient, and additional data is needed to answer the question.
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Calculate the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle.
- The area of the right triangle is
.
- The difference between the height and base is
.
Calculate the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle.
- The area of the right triangle is
- The difference between the height and base is
Statement 1: We're given the area but require additional information.
The base and height, however, can be 2 and 15, 3 and 10, or 5 and 6.
Statement 2: We're provided the information that narrows our possible values. The difference between the base and height is 
so our values must be 5 and 6.
Using BOTH statements, we can find the hypotenuse of the right triangle via the Pythagorean Theorem:
Both statements taken together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
Statement 1: We're given the area but require additional information.
The base and height, however, can be 2 and 15, 3 and 10, or 5 and 6.
Statement 2: We're provided the information that narrows our possible values. The difference between the base and height is
Using BOTH statements, we can find the hypotenuse of the right triangle via the Pythagorean Theorem:
Both statements taken together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
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